Welcome to Cove

In my opinion, if a roleplayed character is really good at something, this character should have some corresponding skills.

A roleplayed legendary fighter should have 120 in tactics and weaponskill.
An assassin should have hiding and stealth and at least poisoning or ninjitsu.
A bard should have musicianship as an alchemist should have alchemy and these skills should be slightly on par with the roleplayed skill of the characters.

These are obvious examples. Now, what I'd like to talk about is how much do people work RP skills in their template in order to be a "more realistic roleplayer"?

Is your template 100% optimized for pvp or have you left some room for skills that are not there to serve a direct purpose and are...
nevermind, I think I forgot what point I was trying to make.

Gah!

Then stop making useless threads.

Perhaps you were saying that people aren't 100 percent warriors but have some alternative skill, perhaps they like fishing and therefore has fishing instead of some warrior skill?

Not pointless! There's a reason Khae has fishing! And it's not for its über PvP bonuses!

I'm talking about more obscure skills really.

At some point Kazuo was a well established merchant and banker, hence he had GM ItemID :D
To have skills just because they fit a character, not because they give extra bonusses.

Kasei has a 100% samurai, pure pvp template.
But hey, in a way that fits his character as well as he was born, raised and trained to be a combat machine. It's just that these days it seems everyone is a pureblood warrior while there are so much more skills to choose from, even though they don't give you any added pvp bonus.

A nature lubbing elf should have at least 50 herding, animal taming and animal lore (and 50 musicianship so they can play their annoying music all night long).

Were I to play a civilian that is a librarian he damn well would have at least 80 inscription and perhapsd (just to make a statement) I'd drop magery after training inscription so it's just for the cool looks (and the title of "scribe" which no one sees unless you are lvl3 fame)

The point of this thread is to more or less start a discussion on how you feel about implementing RP skills in your template. You know the "omgwtfpwn maximum pvp" template vs. the roleplayer leisure type.

Hell, even my assassin (and we all know assassins have fudging cramped templates) has 70 alchemy just because it fits his background.

I don't see why any RP char (not RPvP) should have specific skills.

I will RP an Auctioneer - what skills should he have, according to you?
Okay, maybe ItemID might fit his role, but first of all - what for?

Yeah, it's not like people that role play can SEE how much ItemID you have. Or tracking, unless you can actually role play tracking something what you have in tracking skill isn't worth much.

I am a Librarian with 50 Inscription which pretty accurately demonstrates my thoughts on this matter. The whole point of roleplay is not to have game mechanics necessarily dictate what you can be or do.

Just for personal gratification I guess ;)

anyway, I gots teh matching skillz so I am a betterder roleplayer than yous guys!

I completely understand where you're coming from Kazuo because all the skills I have on Kas are suited to his role as a student of the magical arts.

His template looks like this....

• 115 Evaluating Intelligence
• 100 Inscription
• 100 Alchemy
• 100 Wrestling
• 100 Magery
• 100 Meditation
• 83.5 Resisting Spells

Now obviously the extra 15 in Evaluating Intelligence is leaning towards the "OMG I have a collection of pwned faces" angle but in general I have the skills I have because they fit the role. A couple of times people have told me to drop certain skills and replace them with things that would let me survive longer or cause more damage but I always decline.

My template reinforces my roleplay, I like to vanquish our enemies and feel victorious afterwards but I'd get quite bored if that's all I ever did. I understand where people are coming from when they say it shouldn't be a requirement, but from my perspective I really enjoy having a set of skills with a connecting theme (I.E magic).

In conclusion....

I wanna cast magic missile ! (http://smilies.vidahost.com/games/ff/ff1/Image01.gif)

(PS; My Resisting Spells needs work)

But you have wrestling...

Khae doesn't have wrestling because... well, he's not physically inclined to beat people up with fists. He prefers the snap of the fingers and corp por! I also gave him hiding and stealth to reflect him being an elf. I considered animal taming and lore... but then it doesn't fit with his background. He's a High Elf with little inclination towards animals, he prefers the company of others. I considered giving him cartography, as he's now a bit of a sailor, but decided fishing had to do the trick.

Garak's

110 Eval Int
105 magery approx
100 med
105 wrestle approx
100 hiding
80 stealth
100 Scribe

By dropping hide/stealth I could beef the cchar up a bit but at present I like being the sneaky elf. 

In contrast, Bishop Reynard Destain has healing and anatomy, but no wrestle since as an elderly priest I don't see him disarming people.

I admit if I think hard about it then wrestling does tend to resemble a bit of a sore thumb amongst all the magic themed skills.

But wrestling was always the skill mages had when I first started training one, so that's what he got. He doesn't actually wrestle people WWF style he just sort of makes them drop their weapon or stop in their tracks with a quick flick of the wrist (which have grown stronger on account of all the spellcasting).

Of course I've just made that excuse up on the spot, but hey !

Stop dissing my wrestling. (http://smilies.vidahost.com/otn/party/bdayfrown.gif)

OMGOMGOMG COME 2 FEL N MY WRESTLING ROXXORZ U!

Well, to be honest, Kazuo has wrestling too...
But then, he is Japanese, so he is an innate ability to kick people's arses with his bare hands.

Kazuo's template is still a big mystery to most people though *grins*
but basicly I modeled his template after the way I like to roleplay him in combination with his roleplay history.

I have healing and Anat on Mercy because she's very caring towards others and likes to help keep people healed.  It might mean I can't have over GM in my other skills but its very hand when hunting in dungeons so I can heal two people at the same time.   I do see her as a kind of cleric/healer than just a mage who can hit people with damaging spells.

I think the whole, 'having skills to go with the character you're roleplaying' is good 'n all, but only for civilians who arn't gonna do much PvP.

'Cause alot of people join the Militia because they wanna do some fair PvP, with some awesome RP involved in it too, and you're not gonna be RPing a decent fighter if you have a character that really likes writing, so you decide to give him GM inscription...

In conclusion, its a good idea, but only to a certain extent, if you get the point where you're jepardising your RP for the sake of RP, if you get what i mean, it should stop there.

I don't agree Drachir. I think the main point of people joining the army is because that's where the most RP is at. If everyone had alternative skills instead of pumped up pvp characters then there wouldn't be so much of a difference in either pvp or rp.

Yeah, RP battles, that's why people join. Its only after they've joined that they discover the events besides the PvP events.

But you'd be RPing extremely badly if you were a Junior Dragoon, for example, with a hobby of fishing, so gave your character GM fishing.
Obviously if you have 100 spare skill points then there's no harm, but if you're jeopardising your RP of a junior dragoon then I don't think its a very good idea to try and make your skills reflect your character's personality and hobbies.

Other thing to consider is even if it makes sense for a char to have a skill, like alchemy or inscription, how high should it go?  A char may have an interest in alchemy, or writing, or fishing as a hobby but thery may only be adept, not a grandmaster.  Grandmastery pretty much suggests you know just about everything worth knowing about the subject. 

How do you know that people just join for the RP battles? Perhaps you did, but how do you know that most do? I didn't.

Well, I'd say from watching resently there hasn't been much motivation of people wanting to move up the rank's and when a PvP based event is on alot ore show for it, which really is sad .

Civilians are most often roleplayed by people who need less guidance than the average militia member. They have alot fewer things going on while in general a militia member can log in and has fun created for him or her in the form of regular events.For some people this means they have to put in very little efford to enjoy the guild and it can mean they see no need to organize things on their own.

I have always admired those who created a non-conventional (read non-fighter) character and made their own fun and events. It it true though that this is most often done by the more experienced roleplayers and for someone new being a recruit is a nice way to get started within the guild.

Still, having more diverse templates, not just combat oriented, would make the people of Cove alot more lifelike and to utilize non-combat skills people would have to figure out a way to use these skills (by doing other stuff than just fighting).

As usually there is not really a point to what I just said, just venting my thoughts out loud.
With that said, my Covian Utopia would be a Baronship where all army members would have secondary professions as a civilian as well. Eventually if they decide to go carreer (reach the rank of officer) then they would devote their time to the army exclusively.

If I had my way, every character in Cove would have to invest at least 100 points in a non-combat non-scout (otherwise people are likely to invest the points in either hiding, lumberjacking or skills along those lines) skill and roleplay accordingly. For newer members this would ofcourse mean they need a bit more incentive to actually be taught how to use these skills in a roleplayed manner.

Even as a pvp character some times it's fun to do stuf in the intrest of storyline that makes you less than battle ready.  At one point and time Calico's left shoulder was way messed up from a battle injury making it all but impossible to use a sword... she used a crossbow instead and had archery for about a month. Light crossbow, very very light hehehe.

When she was first limping back from spending a few years boozing it up she played tailor for a time. The logic being she had to physicaly recoperate from bein so weak for so long. Not that, you know, she was ever very good at it, but I had 60 or so tailoring.

It's just as well making special templates dosen't appeal to every one... what if after every major battle half the milita started role playing serious injuries?!

This, next to seeing guardsmen wearing civil clothing and being off-duty, is something I'd deffo like to see in BoC. Sorry, that it is next to impossible to achieve.

On account of the spellcasting eh?

And the bitchslapping of people with dodgy implications ! ;D

Well... In Raiden's case, he joined Cove as a would be warrior, a shieldfighter.

Thus the first skill he maxed was parrying (plus I'm vain and wanted the warrior title ;D).

Through his years in the army Raiden has also learned all there is to know about his weapon skill and of course with the Grenadiers being sticklers for training and discipline his tactics and focus too have been maxed.

The Grenadiers form the main block of the army in battle so the squad too is renowned for it's ability to keep eachother and fellow guardsmen on their feet in combat hence anatomy is also maxed and healing is strong. ;)

As a Grenadier he is also well trained in the art of explosives...

So the spare 10 points i have on his template will go into alchemy!

Hoh!

 ;D

Just to add... The vast majority of his skills (most skills were around 70-80 when he signed up) were learned on the job as it were, during hunts/trainings/patrols etc. - not powergaming. So it can be done and should be done! :P

Ever since I justified having wrestling on Kas I've been thinking....

"Who says wrestling isn't something a wizard would have"

I mean we're not talking Lord of the Rings, Disney or Dungeons and Dragons here, we're talking about Ultima Online mages. Ever since I was aware of the mage template I've known it to include wrestling. Of course over the years it's been replaced or swapped out so people can chop people (hally mages), poison people (nox mages) or hide from people (stealth mages) and countless other things.

The addition of special moves to wrestling has made it a little harder to roleplay with, hence my crazy strong wrists story, but I originally had wrestling for the same reasons as the Stratics essay;

"Meaning a high combat skill vs. a low combat skill would result in the higher hitting more and the lesser less.

For mages this is also true. A mage who is trying to cast a spell and gets attacked can be interrupted if his opponent manages to hit him. A mage with a high wrestling skill will be hit less, and therefore has a higher chance of casting a spell in close combat. Wrestling in this case is not used as an attack skill, but rather as a defensive skill with a positive side-effect on offense; can can cast that Energy Bolt even if under attack."

In conclusion, wrestling is great.

S'as mage related as pearl and root I tell yer.....

PEARL AND ROOT ! (http://smilies.vidahost.com/contrib/edoom/iamwithstupid.gif)

Honestly I think that's the way to do it.  If you join up and get active your skills will realy climb. Sparring is a great way to gain skill since most other guards are more skilled. You earn 'skill' and learn 'ability' like pvp pointers. Pluss it can make for awsome role play.

I'll admit I took Calico to Despise a few times, but really the gains I got there were neglagable... I couldn't power game her because I was new to the shard and broke!

When Anari joined, he was completely useless warrior but he's always been a very hot headed character and usually got himself into things he couldnt get himself out of, but he developed over time in BoC. His skills increasing OOC and IC which helped me develop his personality aswell, becoming slowly more of a tutor than a meat head. ^^

But basically, my opinion on the skill and ability thing is this:
   
     - People forget that RP is actually RP... just because you dont have the a skill such as Scribe, doesnt mean your character cant be a great author. But this isnt to say that theres anything wrong with getting inscription to do this, but all i'm saying is that pressing ctrl+s [salute] has become so many different things, drinking ale, slapping someone, even throwing a bit of wood at a Kaldorian etc.

So why do we have to make it even harder to elaborate on the game for roleplay by confining peoples RP traits to having certain skills...

Anyways, thats my lecture done  :-*